The U.S. renewed a warning that it would defend the Philippines after Chinese ships blocked and collided with two Filipino vessels in the South China Sea.
The first- and second-place winning pilots likely crashed at the National Air Race Championships, possibly because of a blind spot, glare or loss of focus.
After two catastrophic collisions in 2017, the U.S. Navy moved forward with dozens of recommendations meant to ensure it couldn’t happen again. But during this process, something became clear: Despite spending billions of dollars on readiness initiatives, the Navy’s mishap rate hadn’t improved in the last 30 years.
The surface navy has worked since 2017 to avoid future fatal collisions. But Navy-wide, there's evidence of failure to learn. The service is now turning to data to ensure it never has another Fitzgerald or McCain disaster again.
Navy officials wouldn't say what the boat is doing in Southern California following its October collision with an undersea mountain in the South China Sea.